Preview: Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

Thursday

Aug 25, 2011 at 12:01 AMAug 25, 2011 at 2:57 PM

Having a member of Margot & the Nuclear So and So's in your hometown comes with its advantages, one of which was a preview listen to some early mixes from the band's next album, tentatively titled "RGD" or "Rock Gut Domestic," via Erik Kang's iPhone.

Having a member of Margot & the Nuclear So and So's in your hometown comes with its advantages, one of which was a preview listen to some early mixes from the band's next album, tentatively titled "RGD" or "Rock Gut Domestic," via Erik Kang's iPhone.

Kang, who has been playing all sorts of instruments for the Chicago indie-rockers since 2006, was home in Columbus earlier this week in advance of the tour that brings Margot to The Basement this Saturday with locals Indigo Wild and Alert New London.

Margot's last album, "Buzzard," came out less than a year ago, but Kang said bandleader Richard Edwards has gravitated toward a quicker pace of recording in the interest of keeping up with his prolific output.

He called the new tracks a synthesis of Margot's body of work so far, combining the elegance of early recordings with the aggression of last year's "Buzzard." And indeed, the songs I heard - including the arching power-pop anthem "Arvydas Sabonis," the hard-hitting rocker "Disease and Tobacco Free" and the swaying, melancholy ditty "Head Like Yours" - sound like Margot songs through and through. They haven't evolved their indie-for-adults approach so much as sharpened, honed and polished it.

One or two of these new numbers will sneak into Saturday's set, adding extra incentive for fans eager to get their next fix before the album drops early next year.

One more development on the Margot front: a potential move back to Indianapolis for frontman Edwards, which ought to make Kang's commute from Columbus that much easier.